Do You Care About My Struggles?

Cultivating vulnerability with God is powerful. To be vulnerable is to show up authentically. Guilt and shame often try to keep us locked up and hidden from God, making us feel like our stuff is just too much or that the reality of facing Him will affirm our deepest fears.

Go ahead and read the following passage out loud:

“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”‭‭ 1 John‬ ‭1:5-10‬ ‭(NLT)‬‬

One day, when I asked my three-year-old daughter “Where is Jesus?”, without missing a beat, she piped up, “He is in the light!” I have no doubt that she could see into the spiritual realm, and this was her best way to describe what she saw. To her the light was not scary. That is where God was!

Will you come and step into the light? Simply being honest with where you are at will open the door for you to experience God’s heart and perspective. You can start by naming the areas that you are currently struggling with.

• Drugs
• Sexual Addiction
• Alcohol
• Pretending everything is “okay”
• Compulsive Thoughts
• Fantasizing
• Lust (desiring something that is off limits)
• Bitterness
• Feeling Distant from God
• Feeling Worthless
• Feeling Rejected
• Nightmares
• Anger
• Self-harm
• Suicidal Thoughts
• Panic Attacks
• Perfectionism
• Envy
• Jealousy
• Lying
• Occult Involvement
• Pornography
• Fear
• Eating Disorder
• Shame
• Guilt
• Vulgar Language
• Victim Mentality
• Violent Thoughts

You have an invitation right now to not only acknowledge your struggles, but to invite God to meet you. Here is a prayer of permission you can pray to open your heart to Jesus’ grace and mercy.

Courageous Prayer of Permission

Lord, I give You permission to enter these areas of my life. I choose to step out of hiding in the darkness and open myself up to Your light. Thank you for the blood of Jesus that cleanses me from every sin. Show me how to let You into these areas in my life so I can experience the life of freedom that Jesus came to give me.

If there is an area that you feel has a particular stronghold in your life, you can take a stand by resisting the plans of the enemy through the following warfare prayer:

Courageous Prayer to Overcome

I resist the desire of the enemy to cause me to ____________ (remain addicted, afraid, experience shame, etc.) in the name and by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. God, I ask that You take back the ground that I have given to the enemy in this area of my life. Jesus, I yield that ground to Your control and invite You to tear down this stronghold in my life and replace it with true intimacy with You. I believe that through You I am an overcomer!

In Revelations 12 there is a powerful verse that describes how the believers overcame the accuser in their life. This same power is yours today. Allow these words to empower your heart as you continue on your journey of inner healing and freedom. "And they have defeated him by the blood of the Lamb and by their testimony..." What is the testimony that God is giving you as you allow Him to meet you in your struggles?